Escape from Tarkov is a multiplayer tactical military simulator also known as a “mil sim”. It is still in beta but still has up to 200,000 players and maintains a familiar fan base to Rust with more of a chill and friendly atmosphere.

Many of its features and mechanics often encourage team-based gameplay, whether that be with a team of your own or maybe a couple people you found in game. Recently they have released VOIP allowing players to talk in game through microphone based chat making it even easier. But if there is so much teaming then what is the point of all the guns?

Well in each map are amazing surpluses of tech, guns, armor, and other expensive items. You have one stash where your items are untouched by the hands of other players but to get loot you must sacrifice the loot you have in order to get more. If you kill someone you get whatever they have.

Through my playing of the game for the past month I have noticed two main differences in play-styles which have been labeled by the community. These  playstyles are the Rat, and the Chad. The Rat usually focuses on the mindset of “if I dont bring much or even anything at all then there isn’t anything to lose.” This makes the game more difficult in fights but often creates safer, less risky raids for them.

Chads are often known as the antithesis of the rat, and the rats often resent them, having the idea of  “If I am wearing and using  the strongest gear in the game I can’t die, therefore I cant lose any loot.”

During my gameplay I fit right in with the rats noticing my peculiar tastes in the side arms offered and how the less loot I came in with, the more loot I left with. Tarkov doesn’t focus on balance or fun, it focuses on realism, but at the same time that doesn’t mean it’s not fun. It does encourage a more strategic playthrough and punishes the run and gun playstyle that dominates many games.

Most of the time you often see the mistakes in your gameplay more easily because of the slow paced gameplay. In Escape from Tarkov knowledge is half the battle, maybe even more than half. But skill is the difference between living and surviving. This is one of the few games that I’ve played for weeks straight and still haven’t even come close to the skill cap or to beating it. If you want a game to really put time into and use your head then you might as well head over to Tarkov, and then escape from it.